I sure love a Sunday. New here? Welcome! I always start with trivia to get your brain working. In 2019, an unexpected celebrity was born, capturing hearts (and laughs) worldwide. Was this viral sensation … TikTok's Dancing Grandpa, Boston Dynamics' Dancing Robot, the Instagram Egg or Twitter's Mystery Raccoon? You'll find the answer at the end.

⚠️ Today's top story is an important one. I'm hearing from more and more folks getting calls from their loved ones in awful situations. The trick? It's not really their family. — Kim

I've been waving the red flag about voice scams for what feels like eons now. But thanks to the explosion of affordable AI tools, voice cloning isn't just for James Bond villains anymore. It's gone mainstream, and bad guys are cashing in.

The CEO calls

A U.K.-based energy firm's CEO thought he was on the phone with his boss, the chief executive of the German parent company. The "boss" instructed him to send €220,000 (nearly $233,000 USD) to a Hungarian supplier.

The voice was so convincing, down to the slight German accent and rhythm of speech, that the CEO complied without hesitation. This "boss" was a cleverly designed AI voice. By the time they realized, the money had been transferred to Mexico and distributed to other locations. Ouch!

‘Grandma, please help me!’

A woman received a call from her "grandson" claiming he'd been in an accident and was in jail. The voice, the hesitations, the familiar terms of endearment ... it was all eerily accurate. Grandma sensed something amiss when "he" was a bit too pushy about needing money, and she didn't fall for it.

Olivia shared this story on my show a few months ago …

“My mom was getting ready this morning, listening to YouTube, when all of a sudden, her phone impersonated me like I had called her. It pretended to be me hysterically crying and yelling that Will (my husband) was dead — and it was MY voice.” How would you have responded? So scary!

That voice you hear?

In the age of TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and YouTube, where we broadcast our lives (and voices) to the world, scammers are having a field day.

They're extracting voice samples, feeding them into their sinister AI machines and producing chillingly accurate voice clones. With that, the stage is set for a scam as emotionally brutal as it is ingenious.

What to do if you get a call like this

Now, before you consider selling the family silver, let's talk strategy:

💪🏻 It costs about $4 to clone a voice. That's it! Arm yourself with these tips, and don't let scammers catch you off guard. Stay savvy, and use the icons below to share this important security alert with family and friends.

Don’t be alarmed: On Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 2:20 p.m. EST/11:20 a.m. PST, your phone, TV and radio will blare with the first emergency broadcast test since 2011. Expect a distinct alarm and this message from FEMA: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." Mark it down and tell the person in your life prone to panic.

💻 Update now: Google found a big-time security bug that impacts Chrome, Firefox and Skype. It allows programs to store more data than they should, potentially causing security problems. Chrome has a patch ready for action, so update ASAP. It’s easy — just close and restart your browser.

Best seats on the plane: Nervous fliers should find a seat with a view into the galley, where flight attendants are. Have a baby? The front row seats behind the wall between first and economy class often come with a bassinet. Tight connection? Front of the cabin or an aisle seat should get you there faster. Info courtesy of Condé Nast Traveller.

☁️ For crying out cloud: Apple's iCloud[.]com got a complete overhaul that includes the ability to view photo memories, create a new email address, receive browser notifications for new emails and customize displays. Worth checking out if you're in the Apple-verse.

Ready for takeoff: Microsoft is rolling out its AI companion, Copilot, this fall as part of its Windows 11 update, and in Bing, Edge and, of course, Microsoft 365 Copilot. It can write emails, summarize long articles or webpages, take screenshots, adjust settings, and lots more. Hey, it sure beats Cortana.

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I’ve been helping people like you on my national radio show for years. It’s truly an honor to be part of your lives. Here are a few folks I talked to this week:

Kashmir Hill from New York is a technology columnist for The New York Times. She broke the news on Clearview AI, a facial recognition app that’s scraped nearly 30 billion faces. Her book, “Your Face Belongs to Us,” is out now. It’s a great read!

I also help Greg track his activities on a Windows PC, Sharon find an animation app for her artsy grandson, John fix an email mix-up on his personal Gmail account and more!

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Every week on my national radio show, I talk to interesting folks doing amazing things in tech, everyday people who could use a hand, and I share some of my best tips and tricks.

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This week on the podcast, tips to make your laptop battery last longer. Plus, now's the time to stop leaving voicemails — we've got the lowdown on new phone etiquette rules. And, finally, the NFL goes AI, TikTok slang for parents and how to turn an OK resume into a great one.

📚 When the e-book is … complicated: Activate Word Wise on your Kindle to get brief definitions right above tricky words. Open your book, then tap the Aa menu. Select More, then Word Wise. Toggle it on.

It’s Kah-man-do: Tired of Siri butchering names? Just say, "Hey, Siri, that's not how you pronounce [name]." Siri will ask for the correct pronunciation and voila — you’re all set.

🌤️ Rise and shine: Have an Echo? Say, "Alexa, good morning." Your speaker will provide a personalized briefing — weather, news and even the day’s events on your calendar.

Photo shortcut: Don't waste time fumbling for the tiny capture button. Open your camera app on an iPhone or Android, then press the volume up button to snap a photo quickly. Cheese!

Get your personal info off the web: You can get an alert if your info pops up online via Google’s new Results about you dashboard. Check it out — go to the Google app, click on your profile photo and select Results about you.

🏈 Confession: I don’t care about football, but even I’m going to watch this live animated version of the game today. To infinity and beyond!

“It changed my life”: I wish we could rely on the star ratings, too, but shady sellers ruin everything. Use my tips to find legit online reviews.

Watch anxiety: Huffing and puffing to hit exactly 10,000 steps or stressing because your smartwatch says your sleep was subpar? News flash: Those numbers aren’t very accurate.

🔍 Search smarter: “Kim, I don’t trust Google!” Yeah, but you probably use it … You might as well search better with these tricks.

Run a small biz? SEO isn’t a total mystery — but there is an art to it. Read this if you want more online visitors.

Love fur-ever.

🥚 The answer: The Instagram Egg. A simple picture of an egg became a viral sensation, breaking the record for the most-liked photo on Instagram — dethroning Kylie Jenner's baby announcement. Don’t yolk around!

💛 Thanks for all you do to support me and the team behind the radio show, podcasts, newsletters and website. We wouldn’t be here without you! See you bright and early tomorrow with the latest tech news! — Kim